With My Last Breath
by crazypandagirl
Summary: Edward has waited nearly a century for his mate. Rosalie has loved her life with the Cullens, but still misses her younger brothers, dim as her memories of them are. Alice sees her bother's mate, only to come face-to-face with her sooner than expected. Isabella Hale just wants to survive to lead a happy life, and maybe one with love in the end. Before Twilight, start Soph EC, ECxOC
1. Chapter 1

Don't own Twilight, and I blame other authors for this fandom and the TwilightxHarry Potter crossovers for getting me into this category.

Izzy POV

"Miss Hale?" the receptionist, Mrs. Cope, asks.

I refocus on her with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I'm just not feeling so great today," I offer, rubbing the crook of my left arm so show her what I can't say, even after the past two months of being her office aide since the start of this year.

She nods in understanding. "Do you need to go see the nurse, lay down for a bit?"

I shake my head. "I'll manage for the rest of the day."

The main door opens soon after I finish sorting through the paperwork for the student information the teachers are only now turning in, when this should have been taken care of by the end of last month. "How may I help you, Dr. Cullen?" she asks, and my head shoots up at the familiar name. the person I saw last year when I was sent to the ER after collapsing in my old school.

"Dr. Cullen?" I whisper, starting to smile as his eyes widen in recognition.

"Well, if it isn't Miss Isabella Hale?" he asks, shaking his head. "I didn't think I would be seeing you after that incident in the ER so soon."

I blush slightly, before pain in my chest forces me to cough. "It's good to see you again."

"The same for me." He then returns his attention to Mrs. Cope. "I have my five children to enroll here, to start next week. We just moved here and finally have almost everything settled."

Mrs. Cope turns to me, mouth open to order me to find the needed paperwork, before I roll my chair backwards to the file cabinet, riffling through the paperwork he will need, five copies of each. "Health info, car info, enrollment info, class registration, emergency info, list of classes with openings…" I rattle off, before turning around with a smile. "Yes, you are that predictable, Mrs. Cope." I grab a clipboard and envelope, stuffing everything but the enrollment forms in and sealing it shut.

She rolls her eyes at me. "Yes, anyway, if you can fill out the enrollment forms now, we can get on with getting your children registered, then focus on their specific courses." She hands over the paperwork with a smile. You can take the other forms and have the kids turn them in when they arrive, but we need their classes chosen as soon as possible."

Dr. Cullen nods. "I'll make sure they all do it as soon as possible."

He's only filling out the paperwork for the next half hour, before he leaves the paperwork with Mrs. Cope to begin entering into the system before turning to me. "How are you doing? Before you moved, I heard interesting results came from your bloodwork."

I shake my head. "I haven't been doing so well, lately. I have to leave early Fridays, and miss Mondays for treatments." At his look, I sigh. "Terminal, but it's been not as bad the past few weeks. Dr. Coleman is thinking I might be in remission soon if we keep up my current treatment plan."

He almost looks pained to hear it. "And you're only, what now, sixteen?"

"Almost sixteen, just in another two weeks."

He sighs. "How are your parents dealing with everything?"

I wince at that. "They're getting a divorce. Dad doesn't think we can afford it, and Mom won't give up on the idea of taking out a loan for my treatment."

"I'm sorry to hear that," he offers quietly.

I shrug at that, holding my elbow gently. "It's something that can't be helped. I've been expecting it for a while now, they've always been at each other's throats over the smallest things."

"Do you need to get away from them for a while?"

I shake my head. "I'm the only thing that keeps them from really getting vicious, if I leave they'll probably wind up doing something they may or may not regret in the long run."

"That's not the answer I wanted to hear." He hesitates for a moment. "Maybe you could come over for dinner sometime."

I snort at that. "A little ironic, considering we have different tastes for dinner," I jab lightly at him and his family's vampire diet.

He shrugs. "It would make Esme happy, and the kids would know somebody around here who might know how to avoid the drama."

I shake my head again. "I'll talk to Mom about it, she'll probably tell me to come over whenever I can. She doesn't like having me around the house when Dad's there anyway."

"Then should I just call and ask her now?"

"You can, but I have to eat lightly tonight, and I remember you saying something about Esme loving to cook giant meals randomly," I cave easily, knowing home isn't exactly the healthiest environment anyway.

He smiles brightly at that, and Mrs. Cope blushes as she glances up. "You can leave early, since you aren't feeling so great," she whispers to me. "I'll make your excuses?"

I roll my eyes. "It would only be a little early, barely an hour…" I mutter, before shrugging. "Okay, I'll just text Mom to let her know. But I'm gonna need a lift home, if it won't be too much trouble, Dr. Cullen."

"I'll take care of it," he assures me, before I pack up my work as quickly as I can, having sent Mom the message of my evening plans. Just as I finish up, she sends me a text saying to be careful and be home before ten. I nod to Dr. Cullen, and wave goodbye to Mrs. Cope.

Edward POV

Alice stares off into space, and I jump on the chance to watch her latest vision with her.

 _A pale girl with long dirty-blonde hair and is only a few inches taller than Alice, and almost underweight, smiles gently at a future version of myself from the couch, watching and listening to me playing the piano. She has an IV in her arm, and dark shadows under her eyes, and her eyes flutter, struggling to stay awake even as Rosalie, of all people, wraps her in a blue fleece blanket._

 _I look over and smile at her from the piano. "Go to sleep, you're tired." I notice this version of myself is happier, almost lighter with a spark in my eyes, lively even._

" _I don't wanna sleep though," she mutters, her voice soft and gentle, but gravelly with exhaustion. Her eyes are almost the same dark blue as the evening sky as the stars first come out, tired but determined to remain open to listen to the music._

" _You need your rest, Izzy," Rosalie chastises her, fluffing a small pillow before settling it on the armrest next to the girl._

 _Even as she opens her mouth to argue, Jasper comes into the room. The Rosalie in the vision gives him a pointed look, and he turns his gaze onto the uncooperative human, using his empathic ability to send her waves of calm, easing her into sleep. "Thanks, Jasper," the other version of myself murmurs, continuing to play the song._

" _Anything to help your mate, Edward," he whispers, the usual pained expression he wears around humans due to their scent not present in the slightest._

Alice giggles, and I can't help but grin. "You're going to find your mate soon, Edward!" she cheers, hugging Jasper tightly. "Rosalie is going to adore her, and I think you'll like her too, Jasper!"

Esme and Rosalie come into the living room from the dining room. "It better not be a human," Rosalie growls.

Alice frowns. "I think you might actually be related to her though, Rose. She looks a little like you. But I don't know her last name."

"I do believe I did have two younger brothers," she muses, before turning to Alice again. "When?"

"Soon," she answers cryptically, before we all perk up at hearing Carlisle's car pull into the driveway. "I can't wait to tell Carlisle!"

Jasper freezes a second before the rest of us do. "He's brought a human with him," he whispers, eyes wide with worry.

Esme frowns. "I'll meet them outside," she mutters, racing to the front door, but walking at a human pace once she gets outside. We all continue to listen as she starts speaking with Carlisle. "What's going on, Carlisle?"

"Her parents aren't providing the healthiest environment for her at the moment, and she has her mother's permission to have dinner here. She already knows what we are, she's the patient I told you all about a year ago." Rosalie stiffens at that, and I remember all too well that day he came home frowning about that case.

 _He comes into the house, not his usual self as he drops off his briefcase in his office before calling all of us into the living room for a family meeting._

" _One of the ER patients, the one that collapsed in the middle of the day, she knows what we are," he informs us hurriedly._

 _Jasper and Rosalie tense at this. "What do we do about her?" she asks a moment later. I can tell she only asks because she doesn't want the Volturi coming after us, the same as the rest of us._

" _Nothing," Carlisle answers calmly. "Her surname is Hale, and I have reason to believe she may have some distant relation to you, Rose. It would only make sense that she would know, since you went back to give a letter to your family to give them closure. They would have enough hints, and this girl, Isabella, has enough brains to know that every myth and rumor has a grain of truth. She figured me out pretty quickly, truth be told."_

" _Humans aren't supposed to know about us!" Jasper growls, while I remain silent in contemplation, wondering at the faint smell coming from Carlisle that is almost… entrancing. "How can we just let her go with that knowledge?"_

 _My Sire levels us each with a stern glare. "We do nothing. She is the only one to have us figured out, and she's moving soon, once the results of her bloodwork are rechecked." He looks at me oddly for a moment, but I can't hear his inner thoughts since he's blocking me with thinking about the latest edition of his medical journal. "We are moving next year as it is. She won't bring any danger to us, she's promised her silence on the matter."_

I catch a whiff of that same, tantalizing scent that I got off of Carlisle last year, slightly stronger now that the source is here, but it's tainted with something, like sickness or death. Beneath that, it's like the sweetest flower and a little fruity, but I surprisingly don't feel the urge to drain this person, but rather protect her.

"Well, I guess. But what about the kids?"

"I think we'll all be alright. She doesn't smell like most, due to her condition. There won't be any problems, since we all went hunting last night," he assures Esme, as their footfalls, and the heartbeat, come closer to the door.

I watch as Jasper frowns, and I see from his thoughts that he has no problems with the scent of this human. But what condition is Carlisle talking about?"

"It's nice to meet you, sweetie, I'm Esme. What's your name?" Esme asks gently, and I see from her thoughts that the girl she's with is clearly not in the best condition.

"Isabella Hale, Mrs. Cullen. It's nice to meet you too," she answers lightly, her voice almost like music to my ears.

"Please, that makes me feel old. Just call me Esme," she insists, just as the door opens. "Everyone, living room," she calls to the rest of us.

Rose and Emmett race down the stairs, and they're both sitting in the loveseat before our 'parents' and guest make it to the room. Carlisle is the one to make introductions as I stare at the girl from Alice's vision. When he says my name, she smiles at me, even though it seems a bit strained.

Seeing this, I move over to her, guiding her to the couch. "It's nice to meet everyone," she greets in a quiet way, and I can see that she's more than a little shy, but also not feeling well. But she doesn't recoil from my cold touch, but rather almost leans into it.

I make no complaints, though Rosalie clearly has something to say. "Are you related to Garrett Hale?"

She looks almost surprised at the question. "Yeah, Great-Grandpa Garrett, he's Dad's Grandpa. He died when I was little, but he said he wished he knew what happened to his big sister, that's all I really remember about him."

Rose almost smiles at that. "He was my little brother, you know. I guess that makes you my three times over great-niece."

Alice grins at the protective glint in her sister's eyes. "What a nice family reunion!"

Isabella starts laughing, only to start coughing, deep and painful coughs that I know can't be good. I rub her back gently as Esme rushes off to get her a glass of water, while Carlisle comes over to kneel in front of her, from what I can tell listening closely to her lungs as she tries to breathe properly. He accepts the glass filled with water and holds it out for her, which she takes once she's taking shallow breaths.

"What is her condition?" Rose asks, too quietly for her distant relative.

"Cancer," he answers in the same tone, and if I could pale any more, I would.

My mate? Cancer? Dying?


	2. Chapter 2

Rosalie POV

I… I can't believe this! I don't even care anymore that she's human, that's my niece, and I want her to be healthy, happy, and with a good family!

Isabella finally breathes properly after drinking the water Esme brought out, and, I hope it's unconsciously, leans against Edward. I can tell, even without being a mind-reader like him, that he's in shock, and that he wants to protect his mate. He just  
better not try to turn her unless she's on her deathbed, because I want her to have a chance at having a semblance of a normal, human life before we make her a true member of the family. She deserves that much, at least.

Her eyes are fluttering, and she's pale as Edward rests a hand on her forehead. "You can relax," he breathes in her ear, and he pulls the bookbag I only now notice from her shoulder, resting it on the floor at his feet.

She shakes her head. "I have work I need to get done before the weekend," she mutters in answer, moving the bag to rest against her own leg and pulling the zip open. "It's gonna take a while to get through what's left just from the graphs on math, but  
that's the most I have to do aside from reading. I can relax while I read," she grumbles at Carlisle when he gives her a look, one I assume to be of exasperation. I have a feeling that's going to be something we're all going to be feeling in the near  
future.

It must be the Hale stubbornness that Dad once had, and passed on to my brothers and I.

Even though I can see the disapproval in Esme's eyes, she grudgingly accepts her attitude towards her work. "Well, what would be alright for dinner, Isabella?"

"Izzy, please, and something light would be best, thank you," she murmurs, smiling in gratitude before pulling out a battered binder filled with paper and a spiral notebook that's half the size it clearly used to be. "I do like spicy food, if it's not  
too much trouble."

Esme grins at this. "I know exactly what I'll be making then." She rushes off into the kitchen, and I have no doubt that Izzy will be taking home at least one container of food.

An hour passes as she fights her way through the math, with my help of course, then Alice helping her with her Spanish translation, before taking a break to eat the grilled spicy salmon and salad with a spiced goat cheese dressing. After that we find  
Jasper helping her with the World History assignments, and Edward with her Chemistry. By the time she's sped through all of these assignments and eaten, it's only seven o' clock, and she has only been here for roughly four hours, yet has all the work  
done for the homework assigned today, the work for tomorrow, and the work that will be assigned to her on Monday that the teachers have been cooperative enough to provide her with. I can't believe how easy she finds most of this to be, although she  
complains about being scared of not studying yet getting above average grades no longer being assured. She has to be some kind of genius, I know it.

Edward POV

I inwardly laugh at Rosalie's inner thoughts, agreeing that Izzy is rather smart for a human and being new to all of the topics in her classes. I doubt that, if we weren't vampires, we could keep up with her. Maybe this will help for when she has to miss  
classes twice a week, since I chose classes based on her advice, both as an office aide and student with these teachers. I've set my choices so that they can correlate with Izzy's schedule, if only so she might have a better chance at keeping up with  
the class and notes. Though I know better than to hope that she'll have time for a relationship due to her treatments and schoolwork taking up most of her spare time, I can't help but hope that my mate will at least give us a chance, suddenly glad  
that I'm starting as a Sophomore rather than a Freshman, a different start this time around.

I notice that she leans against me more and more, almost like she can't hold herself upright, but also isn't even trying, like she knows something subconsciously. Maybe she's someone that just knows to follow their instincts, or is ignoring hers since  
she knows we're different from the average vampire coven.

I look at the book she's reading and stare at the words. "Poe?" I ask, incredulous.

She looks up at me from where she's leaned against my shoulder with the most adorable expression. "We're going over his work in English, and the assignment is to analyze his short stories and come up with our own based on a fantasy version of the events  
of what could happen with the Poe Toaster for next Wednesday." She looks ready to laugh after a moment. "You really don't like his work, do you?"

Emmett chuckles at that. "Understatement, he actually met the guy once, and couldn't stand him after the one experience. I believe he said something along the lines of him not being safe in a padded room in a straitjacket."

I feel her shaking in her attempts not to laugh. "His mind… I've never encountered another mind quite as messed up as his," I whisper to her, almost shuddering at the memory. Every day I'm glad to never have to listen to a mind like his again.

Her phone rings, shaking her from her amusement. She almost pales at the name on the screen, a Dr. Coleman. "Hello?" she asks quietly, making me assume it's her oncologist.

" _I have your most recent bloodwork results here, after the lab screwed up twice,"_ he informs her, and I know that the others are listening in as well. _"They look promising, but I want to keep up the current treatment regimen, since I'm not so sure of how well you would like the idea of going more aggressively than we are already."_

"You know me that well?" she asks rhetorically. "How much longer do you think it'll take for the results to get better than they are?"

" _At least another two, probably three months at the current pace."_

She sighs. "I'll talk to Mom about the results, unless you're gonna call her next?" as she mentally says something about not bothering with talking to her dad.

" _That was the plan. I've also taken the liberty of looking into payment plans we can work out for everything, and have found some options that I think your mother would approve of,"_ he continues, shocking us all. This must be a very dedicated  
doctor, since I've never met any that would dothat when they were already busy enough.

Izzy smiles at this, clearly surprised, but grateful. "Thanks, Dr. Coleman. I'll be there for my appointment at one thirty. Goodnight."

" _Goodnight,"_ he ends the conversation, before they both hang up.

"How are you going to be getting to the hospital?" Esme I find that she worries that nobody will be able to drive her over.

"Mom takes turns with a nurse picking me up on lunch breaks, and it her turn this week." She frowns at Esme's continued silence. "What?"

"Why can't she stay with you there?" Rose asks, and I hear the screaming parents in the back of Izzy's head.

"She has to stay at work for longer shifts to afford her divorce attorney, since Dad's trying to get full custody with no visitation." She shifts uncomfortably. "I can't ask much more of her, and she's barely holding on to her job as it is since she tries  
to have three day weekends to take care of me instead of leaving me with Dad on Mondays."

Rosalie is getting rather angry, thinking already of ways to eliminate her great-great nephew just to make life easier for my mate and her mother. Carlisle and Esme trade a look, and I am so tempted to roll my eyes.

"I'll talk to your mother tonight, see if we can help with the situation. It'll be a good option for when your mother can't be there, and just in case you need immediate medical attention," Carlisle finally informs Izzy.

She smiles at that and nods. "She will probably agree to it." She then yawns, and I take the book, putting what looks like a gum wrapper to mark her place in the middle of her current story, 'Tell-Tale Heart' by the looks of it.

Emmett, seeing that the work is away, turns on the unnecessarily giant flat-screen and the X-Box. "Wanna race, Izzy? Edward? Jasper?"

She grins and holds out a hand. "I already know I'm going to lose spectacularly," she mutters.

Alice giggles and moves to sit next to my mate. "I'll try to help you out."

"How?" she asks, and I almost forget that Carlisle never said anything about our gifts.

"I'm a seer," Alice answers in a teasing tone. "Plus I know that Edward is going to try to let you win, and that he's going to try to throw that black pillow at-" she ducks as the pillow she mentioned nearly hits her in the head, instead flying straight  
into Carlisle's hand rather than his face.

"Alice!" I growl playfully, before pulling my mate closer into my side, but not denying that I would purposely make it so that Izzy would rank at least above me in the race. "I guess since Alice has shared what her gift is, I should tell you that I can  
read minds, though it's not something that I can turn off as I sometimes wish I could."

She blinks at me, and I can't help but chuckle at the sudden silence of her thoughts. "Interesting thing to know. Anyone else I should know about?"

Jasper chuckles, and whispers in his mind about her curiosity and vague feelings of mischievousness. "I am an empath, and I can also influence emotions as well as feel them."

"Okay…" she drawls, breathing slowly. "So, anything else I should know?"

I grin at Emmett. "Emmett's more brawn than brains," I mock whisper.

"Hey!" he growls, before stopping when Izzy breaks out in laughter again, but this time not ending in a coughing fit by some stroke of luck. "I thought you liked me," he mock whimpers, flashing puppy eyes at my mate.

She grins and winks at him. "I do, Emmett, I just like Edward and Rosalie more."

Even Carlisle grins at this. I think she's going to make life as an immortal teen much better with her sense of humor, as bad as I think it might be for me to think of her making digs at Emmett.

Izzy POV

It's nine thirty by the time we've raced on Forza three times, then playedCall of Duty, which I epically failed at, since I really suck at aiming with this remote, then watched a bunch of videos of people doing dumb things on YouTube, which endlessly  
confuses Esme, but entertains the rest of us. I've been nearly asleep since around the tenth video, wrapped in a blue fleece and Edward's arm over my shoulders, pulling me into his side.

At this point, I'm too tired to stop to think before asking, "Why do I feel the urge to be so close to you, Edward?"

He turns to stare down into my eyes, and I realize that he shares the same gentle topaz eyes as every other vampire in the house. "Well… you see…" he stutters, and I can hear Emmett and Alice snickering at his difficulty with speaking. "You're my mate,  
my soul-mate."

I blink up at him, before shrugging and curling into his side a little more. "Okay," I murmur, refocusing on the tv.

He gives a decidedly human sigh. "You're strange," he informs me.

I smirk at his comment. "I'm female," I counter, before I see Jasper actually laughing, for the first time this evening.

Carlisle calls an end to the YouTubing for the night, saying I have to get home within the next twenty minutes so that he could speak to Mom. Edward, however, seems rather reluctant to let me go, so he walks me out to Carlisle's black Mercedes, a rather  
flashy car for Forks, but not nearly as flashy as some of their other cars.

He kisses the top of my head before holding the door open for me, and closing it once I'm settled into the seat, and I smile out at him as I buckle myself in, before Carlisle takes off at similar speeds to those he went to get here after rescuing me from  
school.


	3. Chapter 3

Izzy POV

I really don't understand why I keep forgetting how much I hate Fridays and weekends now, it must be my classmates getting excited over their temporary freedom that makes me forget that I'm going through chemo just so that I can have a chance at having what they do eventually. I just wish I knew how to tell others what my condition is, but so far only the teachers that need to know about do, and nobody else, since I had Dr. Coleman write a letter to each of them, under the promise that they would not share the information with the rumor mill, since it's a private matter. All anyone else knows is that I have family thing to attend every weekend, and get back in the early hours of Monday, and just skip those days.

I wish they were right, more than they could imagine. More than they wish they could find a way out of small town life.

I stare out over the cafeteria, trying to eat the leftover salad Esme made for my dinner last night, but I can barely even nibble at it, let alone eat any substantial amount of it before this afternoon. I sit alone next to the large windows, letting the watery light wash over me, my back to everyone in the school. I hear the hissed whispers, some of jealousy, some in curiosity, since I never had a note to excuse my absences, but never got called out on it. Not to mention some of the others in my classes still don't understand how I'm keeping up with my classwork when I miss so much, especially the pop quizzes. They don't realize I get the work for all my classes on Wednesdays until Mondays, and get the notes for the lectures on Thursdays after each class.

Someone clears their throat behind me, and I drop my plastic fork into the container of salad. I turn around and find Mike standing behind me, tray of disgusting school food in hand. "Can I help you?" I ask dully, a little nauseous from the stench of the cafeteria, and even worse from the food he holds practically under my nose.

"Wo-would you like to come and sit with us?" he asks hesitantly, and I know he's talking about Jessica, Eric, and the rest of their 'popular' crowd. Personally, I only find Angela to be tolerable company, since she's not nosy, but is willing to listen and talk when the chance comes up. She never pries, unlike everyone else at that table.

I turn back to playing with my salad. "No thanks," I grumble, trying to breath shallowly through my mouth to keep myself from throwing up only ten minutes into lunch.

"Why not?" he asks, setting his tray down next to me and taking the seat.

I glare and pointedly put a seat between us. "Because I don't want to."

He shifts over a seat, following after me. "Is this because I asked you out last month?"

"No," I growl, putting the lid on my food and throwing it into my bookbag, wishing Carlisle would show up to pick me up an hour early. "It's because I don't want all of you in my business." I stand up and stalk from the cafeteria, muttering about pushy gossips. I swear, they follow me wherever I go.

"Hey, Isabella!" he calls out, getting up to chase after me.

He tries to grab my left arm, but I shift away before he can close his hand over the sensitive, needle-pricked flesh. "Leave me alone, I am not your friend, and I'm not interested in being friends with a bunch of nosy gossips who don't know how to shut their damn traps!" I shout from right in front of the doors, before pushing my way out, 'accidentally' slamming the door back with a burst of anger-fuelled strength in time to smash the door against his nose.

I couldn't care less that I could get in trouble for that, I'll just say I wasn't aware that he was still trying to follow me when I clearly didn't want his attention. The rest of the people in the cafeteria would testify in my favor as it is, so I'm not worried about it. I'll just go and sit with Mrs. Cope for the rest of lunch in the office, since she's offered a million times for me to join her in the office for lunch to avoid the other students who would have a field day with my life story.

Did I say how much I really wish Carlisle would come and pick me up early?

Edward POV

I can hear her irritated thoughts all the way from the parking lot, where Carlisle decided that, since Alice saw Izzy being pestered by someone in the cafeteria, that we would go in an hour early to file for our classes and to pick her up early, with the signed note from Izzy's mother.

I smile slightly when I find her sulking as she listens to some loud rock music, conveniently a group that I actually enjoy listening to every once in a while, as she picks at some of her leftover salad. I reach over the counter and tap her shoulder, and she looks up at me, a nasty comment about to come out of her mouth, when she smiles at me and pulls out her earbuds. "Hey Edward," she sighs, before glaring in the direction of the cafeteria, where I can see a group of people standing in the doorway staring at us, in the lead one who has a rather bruised forehead.

I hear her smug thoughts of her being responsible for the bruise on his face, an annoying gossip by the name of Mike Newton if I'm interpreting her colorful thoughts correctly. "How did you manage that and not wind up in front of the principle?" I ask her as Carlisle hands over our class registration sheets.

She smirks. "He tried following me out of the cafeteria after I shot him down twice and I 'accidentally' closed the door a little too hard, and somehow he didn't think to stop the door with his hands, and chose his pretty little face for the job instead. Stopped him better than I hoped, and he's bruising faster than I thought he would." She looks up at me after heaving a sigh, a pleasant smile on her lips. "You guys here to spring me early?" she asks, eyes filled with hope.

I wave the note in front of her eyes with a small smile, one I've reserved just for her. "Only if you are agreeable, my dear," I whisper as I would have if we were in the nineteenth century.

Her eyes widen at that. "Pretty please, Mr. Cullen?" she asks, a small pout on her lips.

I chuckle at that, and offer the note to a woman she mentally identifies as Mrs. Cope, who nods in assent. "Get her out of here, before that Newton boy works up the guts to come in here and harass her some more."

I growl lowly at the way she puts it, as Izzy smiles at the older woman as she stuffs the barely touched salad into her bag and walks around the desk to stand at my side. I hear a spike in jealous thoughts and hear the many gasps and comments as she stands at my side. Deciding to give them more to think on, I take her hand and kiss her knuckles lightly, making her blush beautifully, just as I had hoped she would. The comments and thoughts spiral into madness as we leave, and I can't help but feel a bit smug, my inner vampire preening at the fact that I've got her and everybody else reacting and recognizing my claim on Izzy.

Carlisle shakes his head, his thoughts radiating nothing but pure amusement. "Come along, children. Let's get going." He herds us out the door, and I don't bother to fuss back at him like I normally would have.

As we get to the drizzling, cold air outside, Izzy pulls her jacket closed and pulls up her hood, covering her long hair but for what falls out over her front and over her forehead. I then notice her slightly green tinge, and whisper to Carlisle, "She's probably about to be sick."

He nods, and we walk past as many trashcans as possible, and by the time we pass the third one, I can hear her stomach rumbling in revolt, and we barely make it to the fourth one when she makes a dash for the can, expelling what little food she managed to force down today. I hurry up next to her as Carlisle goes for his car, and pull her hair away from her front carefully, but realize I was a little too late for it to make any difference. She will need to shower before we go to the hospital with her. I guess it's a good thing she's skinny, she should be able to fit into some of Alice's clothes.

Just as I think it, I get a text, and find it to be from the very person I was just thinking of.

 _I'm going to buy her some fresh clothes to keep here, just saw what happened. I'll be back before she's out of the bath._

I shake my head before texting back my thanks, before she stops heaving, just standing over the trash breathing shallowly, sweating and shaking while trying not to inhale through her nose. I honestly don't blame her, and pull her away as the car pulls up next to the curb just ahead of us. She leans heavily on me as I walk her over to the car, and I decide it would be best if I sat next to her in the back seat for the trip back to the house.

She's unconscious before we're even out of the parking lot, and I just comb my fingers through her soft, thinning hair as gently as I can, not breathing so that I won't feel sick myself, as I can see Carlisle doing as well.

Rosalie POV

I can hear the car racing up the driveway, before the door opens and I smell the strong sickness of my poor niece before Edward races into the house, her semi-conscious form crying in his arms.

"I don't wanna go," she whispers, tears cascading down her cheeks, and she sounds more like a child than I could have ever imagined. It almost breaks my unbeating heart, hearing her in such a state.

I approach my brother slowly, knowing his inner vampire is probably barely under the surface with his mate suffering so much. "Edward, I'll take her to get cleaned up," I whisper, holding out my arms for my mortal niece. He growls threateningly, before he sets his mate tentatively in my arms. "I'll call you up once she's decent again, I promise."

I then race up the stairs, locking my bedroom door before stalking into my luxurious bathroom, setting her on the edge of the tub and turning on the water, filling the tub and drizzling in the lavender oil and bath salts, hoping to relax and calm her so she won't throw Edward into a fit again when he gets up here.

"Can you bathe on your own?" I ask her, wiping her cheeks free of tears, only to find them replaced again by fresh ones before she buries her face in my shoulder, shaking with sobs, gasping about not wanting to go to her appointment.

Edward, for God's sake call that doctor and ask what the hell we are supposed to do in this kind of situation if I don't get her calmed down in ten minutes!

"Come on, you need to clean up a bit," I coax her gently, opening the buttons on her large flannel shirt, revealing only the light pink camisole underneath the black and white plaid fabric. She nods slowly and starts undressing herself, and before I know it she's in the tub, bubbles up to her chin with her hair washed and up in a messy bun, her head leaned on my hand on the edge of the tub, half-asleep once more.

"Rose," Edward calls quietly from outside my room. "Alice is almost back with clothes for her, whenever you're done."

"I'll have her out in a few more minutes," I answer, too quiet for the ears of my niece to register. I dip the washcloth in the warm water and run it over the back of her neck again, still shocked at how skinny she is, where I can see in the size of her clothes that she used to weigh a bit more than she does now. I rest my cheek on the top of her head, before I pull the plug on the tub, pulling her to stand and guiding her into the shower to rinse off before wrapping her in a warm, fluffy white towel.

She's barely responsive, and I catch a tear trickling down her cheek as I settle her on my bed. "I don't wanna go Rose," she whimpers, and I sigh, just pulling her into another hug, rubbing her back gently and trying to calm her again.

"Let's at least get you dressed, okay?" I ask her quietly, and I get a nod in response.

I get up to let Alice in, finding Edward to be leaned against the wall next to my door, being respectful enough to not look into the room with her not decent, yet still wanting to be as close as possible to her. "Hi there, Izzy," Alice greets my niece calmly, setting a white shopping bag on the floor at her feet before leaning in to hug Izzy. "You're gonna be just fine, I promise. We'll be right here with you until your mom can be here, okay?" she whispers, getting a shaky nod of assent as I close the door, locking it once more. "I found you some really cute pajamas, and a new set of flannel shirts and sweats," she starts rambling, pulling out of the bag several set of pajama pants, flannel shirts, shorts, and sweats, with new underclothes in her sizes.

Izzy reaches out for the blue fluffy pajama pants and Alice pulls the tag off the pants as I silently hand my niece the necessary underclothes before she starts pulling on her outfit. She winds up in an overly large purple and white plaid flannel, with one of Alice's unused white camisoles underneath. When I finally look at the time, I realize it's nearly one twenty, leaving only about twenty minutes to convince her to go to the hospital.

Steeling myself for another meltdown, I pick her up and follow Alice into the hallway, where Edward snatches her from my grasp. She burrows into him, wrapping her arms around his neck and hiding her face in his shoulder, her damp hair beginning to curl down her back. I can barely bring myself to force her to keep to her appointment in this state, but she agreed to do it before. I know she's just having one of the worst possible bad days she's dealt with thus far, since I know for a fact she was only slightly ill this morning, but not enough to cause a concern.


	4. Chapter 4

Edward POV

Dr. Coleman, when I call him after Rosalie's success at only calming my mate slightly, simply says that they were all waiting for her to have a meltdown, and just asked for the address so he could administer her treatment where she would feel safer, or at least find comfort.

That was an hour ago, and he just called saying he will be on his way for the appointment to remain on time. Now I have my Izzy wrapped up in my arms, the fleece from last night round her pajama-clad form. I comb my fingers gently through her hair once more, finding it soothes her shot nerves. "I don't wanna go," she whimpers again, for at least the fiftieth time.

"You aren't going, the doctor is gonna come here," I murmur to her, trying to lull her into a daze so she doesn't have full awareness of what is going on around her while she's being given her treatment. "You don't have to go anywhere, and your Mom's coming over for dinner tonight."

Her eyes are fluttering slowly, a sign that she's barely aware, and I confirm it by finding her mind to be almost totally blank, hazy even with exhaustion both physical and emotional. "Stay?" she whispers, and I find that her fluttering eyelashes are soft, but I'm only now noticing because they're tickling my neck in her struggle to maintain a semblance of consciousness.

"You can stay here," I confirm, and she drops off at last into a much-needed slumber. Dr. Coleman may not like giving her this treatment while she's asleep, but she gave full permission to do so if necessary before beginning her first session of chemotherapy, as Carlisle found out from the oncologist. I move slowly, rising only to gently lay her on the couch, cocooning all but her left arm in the fleece, and tucking a pillow under her head to keep her more comfortable, before looking up to see the girls with broken-hearted expressions, something I've never witnessed before.

"Is it such a good idea to have her sleep?" Rose asks, eyes glued to my mate.

"There won't be any issues, it's just preferred that she is awake so she can voice if something is wrong," I answer sadly, itching to find another blanket to throw over my mate but knowing better than to do so at the moment, since Coleman will be here any minute.

Esme comes around and hugs me tightly, and I hold her just as tightly, holding back a whine of distress for my mate. "We just have to be here with her. She'll understand it was the only option later," she whispers, before turning into the kitchen, no doubt to make something very gentle for Izzy once Coleman leaves the house.

Alice stares off into space as Jasper enters the house from the back, eyes glowing with the evidence of his hunting trip with Emmett going well, the same golden glow evident in my giant of a brother's eyes as well. "How bad was it?" Jasper asks quietly, seeing the tear stains on Izzy's delicate cheeks.

I shake my head as Rose answers, "It was her first meltdown by the sound of things, so pretty bad. Sleeping was the only way to calm her down," she admits in a whisper I strain to hear, her voice thick with emotion.

Emmett lopes over and wraps her in his arms, and she huffs as she leans into her mate, accepting his comfort. Jasper, however, approaches her sleeping form on the couch, and I hear his thoughts on sending calm, reassurance, and determination into her, steadying her emotions while she's currently struggling with them. I nod in thanks as the doorbell rings.

Rosalie POV

I'm just glad she stayed asleep through the whole thing today, but I know Carlisle and Coleman weren't too thrilled with that. Edward wound up holding her to make sure she remained at least upright, and we could all smell the strength of the chemicals being pumped into her body, making me think rat poison might be kinder.

It's almost six when her eyes finally open, and the first thing she does is hide her face in Edward's shoulder, her left arm limp at her side. "Where's Mama?" she asks, voice thick with tears, muffled as it is.

"She's on her way here," he whispers as Carlisle gets off the phone with her mother, nodding to Edward before going off to his office. "Do you want anything?"

She nods slowly. "Can I have ice cream?"

I smile and rush off to the kitchen, hoping we do actually have some in the freezer, or I'll be driving into town just to get her the frozen treat, knowing it can only be sugar-free. Esme shakes her head, pulling out the ice cream that even smells off, without even opening it. I turn back around and grab my coat and keys.

"What flavor do you want, Izzy?" I ask, approaching the exhausted girl as I pull my purse over my shoulder.

She blinks, thinking for a moment before deciding. "Can I have strawberry or mango?"

I frown at that. "How about strawberry and vanilla and we top them with mango? I've never seen a store with mango ice cream."

She nods. "Okay. Thank you," she murmurs, before looking up when Esme touches her shoulder, accepting the offered glass of iced water.

I can't take seeing her in such a state, so I run out to my beautiful red convertible, my most recent purchase for the car collection. One second I'm there, and the next speeding out of our long drive, going three times the speed limit in less than a minute, a new deputy not even realizing I've passed his cruiser as he sleeps on the job. I shake my head, only slowing down once I reach the first signs of town streets.

As I turn into the parking lot, I bite back a groan. Trust those dogs to be here when I'm running out for just a couple of things. I try not to breathe too much when they turn to look at me as I drive past them to park on the far side of the lot, unwilling to have my car reek as much as they do. I resist the urge to flip them off as I enter the store as they stare at me, but I have better things to do than rile them up. I snatch one of those flimsy little plastic baskets by the door, and march straight up to the frozen treats aisle, and go straight for the sugar-free labeled containers, finding the strawberry and vanilla to be on the bottom two shelves.

I grab the ones with the latest available expiration dates, and sniff to make sure they are as fresh as possible, knowing from a whiff that they are as far as possible from having freezer-burn. Just to be safe, I grab two of each of the organic choices, trying to stick to the healthiest stuff available for my sick niece. I then wander through the store, grabbing some vegetables and dip for her to snack on, as well as some crackers, cheeses, and dips for her mother to snack on as well.

When I reach the meats and fruits, I get a text from Esme.

 _Grab some chicken and salmon while you're there._

I text back an affirmative, and once I've checked that the fruit is safe for consumption, I make my way over to the meats, grabbing a pack of ten chicken breasts and then go over to the fish display. I wave the butcher over impatiently, and he practically falls all over himself to get over to me.

"What can I get you, Miss?" he asks roughly, but with a small smile.

I glance over the fish choices, and point to the one I want. "I would like that salmon if you would."

He gapes. "The whole thing?"

"Yes, the whole thing, sir," I grumble. Why would he ask that, does he think I only want a bite of it? Stupid mortal.

He stutters, but pulls the fresh fish from the display, wrapping it carefully before weighing it, putting the price sticker on it, and handing it over. "Have a nice day," he mutters as I stalk away from his counter, hurrying to the checkout.

I hardly hide my impatience as the boy ringing up the items, Mike, tries to flirt with me. I snatch the groceries and make my way out, but unfortunately my luck with the dogs ends here, as a group of three waits on the bench outside the doors for me.

One of them wears a cowboy hat, with a blanket in his lap as he sits in his wheelchair. Another is a teen about Izzy's age, his hair down to his shoulder blades and brown eyes glaring daggers of hate at me. The last is a giant of a man, his hair cropped close to his skull, and based on his scent he must be an alpha, even though the scent of the younger boy is like a faint version of the alpha we made the treaty with.

"What?" I snap at them, wanting to get the ice cream to my little niece quickly.

"When were you planning to let us know you were back?" the alpha apparent snarls.

The one in the wheelchair glares up at the tall boy. "Sam, that's enough." He turns to me with a false smile. "I am Billy Black, this is my son Jacob, and this is Sam Uley. I assume you are Rosalie?"

"You assume correctly," I sneer. "As much as I… _enjoy_ this discussion, my niece is waiting for me to get back."

Without waiting for an answer, I go as fast as I can while maintaining a human pace to my car, sending Carlisle a text telling him about the dogs being nosy.

Izzy POV

One second Rose is pulling up, according to Edward, then the next she's handing off the ice cream to Esme in the kitchen, and cutting up a mango, all the while muttering something about wet dogs. I blink at that, since I have no idea what she could be talking about, though Emmett is quite obviously amused at her ramblings.

Esme brings over a large bowl filled with vanilla and strawberry ice cream, the vanilla half topped with cubes of bright orange fruit. "Here you go sweetie," she murmurs, smiling tightly as I accept the bowl with a smile of my own. "Your mom said she'll be here soon, maybe another half an hour."

"Okay, thank you," I murmur, leaning against the freezing Edward and scooping out a small bit of vanilla with some mango.

Alice smiles and turns on the tv, starting up the YouTubing once more, but this time she starts us with cat videos, having decided that cats are something more amusing than last night with people intentionally hurting themselves. We even get to cats vs… cucumbers? I never knew most of them would jump like that!

By the time I finish my rather melted ice cream, we've moved onto watching other cat videos, and I hear the doorbell ring. As Carlisle goes to answer the door, Esme takes my empty bowl into the kitchen. "Your mom is here," Edward whispers. "She's worried, apparently Coleman told her about earlier."

I don't like that I broke down like that earlier, and I don't know why everything just got to me like it did. I burrow into his side, mumbling, "I'm sorry for earlier."

He runs his fingers through my hair slowly once more. "It's not your fault, Izzy. I can't blame you."

"Izzy," I hear Mom call, and her hurried footsteps coming our way from the stairs leading up to here.

I look up at her as she approaches slowly. "Mama," I whisper, pulling away from Edward to barely manage to stand as she pulls me into her arms.

She rubs circles into my back gently, and I rest my head on her shoulder heavily. "Are you feeling any better now, baby?"

I nod a little. "A bit," I whisper.

She looks over my shoulder to Edward, and I can tell she's giving him one of 'those' looks. "You'll treat my daughter right young man, or vampire or not, I will find a way to make you suffer," she threatens.

I blush as Emmett and Rosalie chuckle. "Mama," I mutter.

"No, you're still my little girl, and I'm gonna do right by you since your father refuses to." She pulls away slightly and sets me down on the couch. "Now, are you going to introduce me to everyone?" she asks me pointedly.

I smile a little. "This is Edward, over there is my three times over great aunt Rosalie and her 'boyfriend' Emmett, over by the piano we have Alice and Jasper, then their 'parents,' Carlisle, who you met last night, and Esme."

I can see the shock in their eyes as they register what Mom said. "You know?" Jasper asks, barely loud enough for us mere mortals to hear. Edward snorts at the title I gave Mom and I.

She lifts an eyebrow at that. "Of course, where do you think she learned those myths? Her father certainly wouldn't teach her about them, or do much of anything."

I can see Rosalie's approval for Mom behind the distain she has for most humans, family or no.


	5. Chapter 5

Edward POV

I'll give it to Mrs. Hale, or Charlotte as she insists on being called, she is scary for a human. Unless it's just something that she pulls out for whenever a male comes into her daughter's life, and that I'm finally getting that treatment that I now understand why every boy at school is scared of asking permission to be with their significant others. I now sympathize with the boys I've been laughing at for nearly a century.

She's shorter than me, maybe an inch or so shorter than Izzy, with pitch black hair and soft blue eyes. Even though she looks innocent enough now, she is not a mortal I want to ever cross.

Other than that threat when I met her, she's been quite nice, and has been trying to talk Rosalie out of giving her descendant a piece of her mind. "He's not worth it," she says.

Rosalie stares her, disbelief in her eyes. "He's forcing you to spend thousands to keep your daughter out of his custody, refuses to support his daughter receiving treatments, and has been leeching off of you for years. How is he not worth it?"

Charlotte sighs. "The lawyers all see that he's not going to be a suitable full-time guardian, and his lawyers aren't going to bother trying very hard, and will give me half of their payments to try and help me out. Even they realize I have to pay for nearly everything, and don't want Izzy in his custody."

"I don't care that they'll give you a refund, that… descendant of my brother's is running you into the ground, and doesn't care about his own daughter!" she growls in return.

"Rose," Carlisle sighs. "Be that as it may, it's her decision." He then turns to the mortal mother. "However, that does not mean that we can't offer any kind of assistance. You are family, after all, and we help one another in any way we can."

She shakes her head. "I can't ask for any more than what I already have, Carlisle."

At this, Izzy sighs. "Might as well give up while you're ahead, Rosalie. There's no convincing her to do anything else."

I spare her mother a look, reading her thoughts and seeing only that she won't cave to our demands. I then shake my head at the others, silently telling them to back down. I rise slowly from the table, taking the empty plate from Charlotte and the half-eaten bowl of broth from Izzy, knowing she's unable to consume the rest of it, at least not right now.

"Let's move into the living room, shall we?" Carlisle asks, rising and leading everyone else from the dining room as I rush back to help Izzy walk, her body weak from the treatment, as it will be again after her next round tomorrow afternoon and through Monday.

I pull her into my side the moment we get onto the couch, draping the blanket over her to keep her from getting too cold. Her mother raises a brow, but doesn't make any comment as she takes a seat on her daughter's other side. "So tell me about yourselves," she starts. "I've told you about my… divorce issues."

"But not your life story," Rose mutters just loud enough for Charlotte to hear.

"Fair enough," Charlotte concedes, before settling back. "I was born and raised in Michigan, my maiden name is Swan, and yes Charlie is my cousin on our father's sides of the families, though we only met a few times at the family reunions and events. I was an average student for the most part, got decent grades, made good choices until I chose my college courses. Majored in chemistry and biology, and wound up with a limited job market. I met my husband, Kurtis, online, and we seemed to just… click. Got married two years later before we moved to Alaska and had Isabella, our perfect baby girl." She clears her throat and smiles at Izzy's blush. "Soon after though, the medical bills started piling up. He got this idea in his head that an early retirement would be a good idea, and ran with it. We lost over half of our income with that, but he didn't notice until I started requesting longer working hours to ensure we could keep putting food on the table. He didn't want to go back to work, or do anything but let me do the work, not even an online job where he wouldn't have to leave the house. Izzy was only six when this started, and only when Kurt realized that the living expenses in Alaska were just too much two years ago, Izzy started getting sick, and wound up in the hospital in the middle of the day. I gave permission to them to run any test they needed to without telling him, since he was refusing to take Izzy to a doctor, saying she wasn't sick in the slightest."

"That's how we found out about the cancer," Izzy cuts in, eyes slightly glassy. "Turned out I had since the end of eighth grade, based on how bad it was. When he found out, he pretty much flipped, saying that we couldn't afford the treatments, and he didn't care that I was sick."

"After a month of him forcing her to go without treatment, and having her friends sneak her to the hospital for treatments every weekend, I couldn't do that to the two of us anymore. I filed for divorce and moved the two of us down here, having Charlie look for a house we could move into immediately. We stayed with him until we had the basic furniture, and he even took care of finding Dr. Coleman for us, explaining everything and helping to get the files transferred to here." She clears her throat, trying to keep herself calm. "I can't tell you just how bad it's been between Kurt and I for the past decade, just that it's because he didn't want to work. He blames me for not earning enough money, and for not paying for his place up north, when he should be working to support himself now. After all, my name wasn't put on the deed to the house. He's calling me so much, at home, at work, and when he got kicked out by the bank, he forced himself on us, saying that we had no right to leave him without resources. He's been here the past six months, and I forced him to take the worst apartment in town, getting Charlie involved when he hit me. I only paid for his first month, and he's forcing the landlord to run up a tab for when he 'gets a job' that everyone knows he won't bother with."

I can barely keep myself in my spot, I'm so furious. Her husband would have let his own daughter die to save money? Forget my supporting Charlotte in not going after her husband, I'll egg Rose on!

Jasper winces at the rage I can hear from everyone in the room, and I try to calm down. "You think that it's alright for him to walk all over you like that?" Esme asks at last, the one able to talk without screaming.

Charlotte shrugs. "He won't be my problem anymore, so I'm not worried about it. The lawyers on both our sides have spoken to the judge, and are in favor of him having no visitation rights, and even filed for a restraining order without telling me until after the fact."

"A man like that isn't going to just roll over and admit defeat like that," Carlisle points out worriedly.

"He won't have a choice," Izzy grumbles, eyes closed as she dozes on my shoulder.

Izzy POV

Mom caved to at least letting me spend the night after telling our story, since I've had a rough day and chemo all in one go, and even she admitted that I need to be monitored for the night. She does, however, decline the offer to stay the night with me, saying that she'll be over first thing in the morning to spend time with me. Edward offers me his room for the night, rather than letting me sleep on the couch, and I agree after a little bit, sort of uncomfortable with taking his private sanctuary from him without much warning, but he is so insistent I just give up on the matter. Not to mention he wants to make sure I'm alright throughout the night.

Once Mom leaves after giving me a gentle hug, he carries me upstairs without much protest, everyone calling goodnights after us. As I take in my vampire's room, I can't help but stare at the wall décor. He has original vinyl records framed along his walls, most of them signed by the band members too, with letters of authenticity proudly displayed underneath. He then has a beautiful white grand piano overlooking the forest outside the window wall.

"Like music much?" I tease quietly, earning a chuckle. "How many records do you have?"

He actually stops at that. "I'm actually unsure of the exact count, but its probably… more than any music store around would have right now, at least."

I smile at that. "What kind of music do you like, anyway? I don't think you've ever mentioned that to me."

"I don't like much, but I do enjoy classical, and some rock." He tilts his head to the side as he carries me into the bathroom. "I'll give you a few minutes," he murmurs, before closing the door behind himself.

"Such a gentleman," I mutter under my breath, finding a new toothbrush and tube of toothpaste waiting for me on the glowing white counter.

I manage to walk out of the bathroom on my own, before he literally sweeps me off my feet and carries me over to the bed, covering me with the soft fabric and covering that with the warm comforter. "Edward?" I ask as he turns away.

He gazes down at me as I turn onto my right side, gazing back up at him. "Yes?"

"Would you… play a song on the piano? Please?"

"How could I say no to a face like that?" he teases, leaning down to brush a stray hair from my cheek.

As the soft notes fill the room, and I'm sure the rest of the vampire house, I feel a smile tug at my lips. I sigh and close my eyes, following the changing, flowing notes with increasing difficulty as exhaustion pulls at me once more, and I lose the fight to stay aware of the world around me.

It feels like I'm only just barely asleep, drifting in the dark, when a bright light filters into the room, stinging at my closed eyes. I grumble and bury my face into a cold, solid shoulder… wait, shoulder? I open my heavy eyes to find Edward staring down at me, eyes glowing a golden-topaz color that I could drown myself in. I blink up at him for a moment, before draping my left arm over his chest and hiding my face in his shoulder again.

"Turn off the sun," I mumble at him, comfortable under the warm sheets with my cold vampire pillow on my over-heated cheek.

He sighs at me, and runs a hand over my forehead. "You caught a fever in the middle of the night," he informs me quietly. "At least wake up enough to take something for it."

"No," I mumble, trying to hide from the world in his shoulder. "I can hear you rolling your eyes at me."

"You need to get up, Izzy," he grumbles, before sliding his arms under me and lifting me from the warm nest of blankets. I just curl up in his arms and keep my eyes closed, even though I'm getting a little chilled. "Izzy, don't make me get Alice, or Emmett."

"Someone call my name?" Emmett calls from the door. I start squirming, trying to get out of Edward's arms.

"No, nothing!" I call as Edward grins down at me, refusing to let me go.

He looks over to his brother. "Thanks Emmett."

"No problem. Esme says her breakfast is almost done," he calls back over his shoulder.

I stop moving at stare up at Edward. "That wasn't very nice," I inform him.

He nods in agreement. "It worked though, didn't it?" he asks as he sets me down gently, guiding me into the bathroom once more.

I stare at him for a moment. That… insufferable, sweet, devilish vampire! As he grins at my thoughts, I shut the door in his face, hearing him start laughing wholeheartedly makes me smile, even if it is all at my expense. I have the feeling he doesn't usually have much to laugh about.


	6. Chapter 6

Edward POV

She's so calm now, compared to yesterday, at the prospect of another round of chemo in an hour, that I can barely believe that she was ever having a meltdown over it. She just calmly takes the jeans her mom brought over and goes up to my room, Rosalie tailing her to make sure she doesn't need any assistance.

Charlotte clears her throat, and I turn my full attention onto her. "So, just why are you so attached to my daughter? You barely know her."

If I were human I might be fidgeting. "As you know, vampires have mates."

"Yes," she drawls. "Some being Carlisle and Esme, Jasper and Alice, Rosalie and Emmett, and I am sure there are many more examples that you can think of."

I feel like I should be blushing. "Well, Alice saw that my mate would be entering my life a few days ago. I saw it with her, and found that she would be accepted into the family, more easily than I would have thought possible. We never knew her name until Carlisle brought her here the other night."

Silence. Both in her mind and between us. "What?" she whispers, staring hard at me.

"Your daughter, Izzy… she's my mate."

She snorts, at last giving me a reaction. "Of course she wouldn't have a normal life."

Alice looks over her shoulder at us, pulling her attention from the forest outside of the window. "Her future isn't set, but every route leads to her happiness, from more than one person falling away from her family."

Charlotte looks down at her left hand, staring at the wedding band she is almost ready to remove. "Her father is one, I promised her that the day he denied her treatment," she breathes. "But I don't know who else. Charlie is the only other family we have in the area, we've been out of contact with the rest of my family for years. He has a daughter, they never met, but they share a first name, even though Izzy was born first by a couple of months."

"Is there anything else you can see?" Jasper asks, worry in his eyes.

Alice frowns, and I try to peek, only to hear her reciting the Chinese alphabet backwards. "It comes from jealousy, wanting what Izzy has even though they know they have no chance or right to it. A person used to getting what they want."

"I don't know anyone in the family who is like that," Charlotte sighs, frustrated if what Jasper says is any indication.

I hold back a very human sigh of annoyance. "There is nothing we can do about it right now. I'll make sure Izzy is always happy," I promise her, and myself. I couldn't live with myself if I did anything to hurt her, or to let her live in misery.

She must see this, and she nods. "Just don't keep her from me."

"I would never do that to her."

Little Freak decides to laugh at this point. "Of course, it'll be rather difficult to keep her away when she will join our family."

Carlisle shakes his head, laughing echoes in my head. "I just hope it's not for an overly painful reason."

"What do you mean by that?" she asks, multiple visions of possible scenarios that might result in her being turned scrolling through her head.

Alice turns to address us with a sad gaze. "I don't see how it happens, I only know that it does. I don't see a mate in the near future, but it could change if they change their minds."

Rosalie POV

I know the flannel shirts are warm, but is that really all that Alice had to buy for her? I know there had to be more options at whatever store she went to yesterday!

This time, she wears a black and blue plaid flannel with only the center two buttons done up, showing the black tank top underneath, and perfectly matching the shade of blue in her jeans. I somehow let her get away without putting on either socks or slippers, but maybe it was her puppy eyes that convinced me. That and the fact she let me play with her hair, pulling it back into a tidy fishtail as gently as possible.

I can't help my motherly tendencies with her-I've never had a child. I guess I'm projecting with her now.

"Rose?" she asks quietly as I tie off the braid.

"Yes?" I ask in return, resting a hand on her shoulder from where I sit on the bed behind her in my room once more.

"Why do you like me so much?"

I blink unnecessarily at that, before I pull her back into my arms gently. "The night Carlisle turned me, I had been to see one of my friends. I saw how happy she was in her marriage, and I held her baby girl, something I had been wanting for a long time for myself." She looks back at me with wide eyes. "As a vampire, I'm unable to have a child, and with the way children are always getting hurt, I can't adopt them when I know there is a chance I could be tempted by their blood."

She smiles at that. "You see me as a chance to experience being a mom?"

"That, and you are family, no matter that we are a few generations apart." I run a frozen finger down her cheek with a sad smile. "You deserve better than what you've had to go through, and I want to be there for my family now that I have a second chance to do so."

"It's not because you pity me?" she whispers, looking away self-consciously.

I chuckle at that. "I wouldn't pity you because I know that's the last thing you either need or want from anyone. No, I like you because you deserve the good family your mom has always wanted for you."

Izzy POV

I wince as the needle is removed from my arm, pointedly looking anywhere but at the doctor.

Mom squeezes my other hand as they stick a band-aid over the puncture. "Feeling okay?" she whispers.

"Like I'm about to puke fire," I whisper back, keeping my jaw locked and breathing slowly.

An icy hand meets the back of my neck gently, rubbing at the base of my skull delicately. "Any other problems? Pain?"

I shake my head slowly, closing my eyes and slightly tilting my head back against the uncomfortable flat pillow in the hospital bed, shivering slightly. "Cold," I answer after a moment.

Mom gives the doctor a look, who checks a monitor then leaves in a bit of a hurry. "Izzy, you've got a fever, and your oxygen intake doesn't look right. He's gonna go get Carlisle so they can make sure it's nothing serious, okay?"

"Okay," I murmur in response, turning on my side to face both her and Edward, who keeps his hand on my neck, keeping the nausea away just enough.

He frowns, and runs his other hand through my hair gently. "Your lungs don't sound right," he murmurs with a very human sigh. "Maybe a case of pneumonia."

I give my own sigh. "But I'm breathing fine."

"Doesn't mean there isn't a slight case though, Izzy," he murmurs to me, before a nurse comes in with a hot blanket, draping it over me gently before adding another, then leaving silently.

I close my eyes and breathe shallowly, slowly, settling into the uncomfortable bed.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Astrid Claire, in this story I thought it may have been a little obvious that Poe was a vampire... and I'm going off of what I remember from the movies, I didn't look too deeply into the info online for the character profiles or read the books (didn't even finish five pages before I lost interest in Twilight).

Rosalie POV

I sit in the hospital with Izzy as Edward speaks with Carlisle outside, mostly about whether or not she will have to stay overnight again. I refrain from touching her, knowing that she feels cold, but knowing she's suffering from a fever. It's horrible seeing her in such a state; but knowing it will pass soon doesn't make me feel any better about it.

And her schooling… tomorrow is Monday, but Carlisle and her doctor have already made it plain that she won't be attending on Tuesday, which is going to put other students off. Someone may even try to see her, meaning to wish her well and accidentally revealing her illness to the entire student body. It's the last thing she wants, but she knows it'll have to come out eventually, whether she wants to admit it or not. The doctors are insisting she can't be allowed to go home until at least tomorrow evening, and even then they don't think she should be allowed to leave.

Her mother can't afford to keep doing this much longer. She's barely holding onto her job, and the lawyers are only costing her more. Carlisle can help, but he also has to come to work here, whereas they want her to remain under observation. Sure, he could say that we've been taught enough to take care of her at our house, which is true enough, but they want her in the hospital.

Carlisle walks in and begins to unhook her from the sensors, a nurse watching like a hawk and pursed lips. "I really think she should stay here, Doctor Cullen."

"Her mother wants her away from the hospital," Carlisle answers with barely concealed annoyance. "She will be well cared for outside of the hospital by my wife. If there's a problem, she has the certifications to take care of Miss Hale."

She sighs and walks out, going to the desk to get her discharge paperwork ready. Izzy opens her eyes tiredly as Carlisle removes the IV, replacing it with a cotton wad and gauze. "Home?" she asks, holding back a yawn as the drugs try to keep her asleep.

"Yeah, we're taking you home for now," he assures her, wrapping her more firmly in the flannel blanket I brought last night before shifting her into a wheelchair far too easily. "Your mom is filling out paperwork while we get you to the car, okay?"

"Okay," she mumbles, eyes closed and breathing slowly in exhaustion.

When I realize she actually fell back asleep in the chair, I tuck a lock of hair behind her ear gently as I look at Carlisle. "What are we going to do about the dogs?"

If he were human, I suspect he might have sighed. "I will approach their territory tonight where we made the treaty, since its along their regular route near the house. They might grant me permission to meet with the elders to explain the situation with Izzy and Edward, but I may not be able to do so as directly as I would prefer."

"I just want the dogs to leave her and her mother alone."

I fight to keep a straight face when I see the Newton boy staring around for Izzy when Edward joins us at lunch, wanting to go over there and beat him within an inch of his life for harassing her. "Easy Rose, he's not worth it," Edward whispers, sending a glare to the mortal that makes him turn back to his own lunch very quickly, earning a thankful look from a nerdy looking girl at the same table before she scribbles out a note.

"He's been harassing Izzy for months!" I hiss, defending my vicious thoughts. "Nothing good comes out of behavior like that!"

Emmett's arms wraps around my shoulders, one of which he massages soothingly. "If he tries to bother her with us around, we can easily set him straight Rose," he murmurs with a dark grin.

At ease now with all the reassurance that the Newton boy won't do to Izzy what happened to me, I settle down to listen to the other conversations going on in the cafeteria.

Edward POV

As I settle down at my window seat in the chemistry lab, the nerdy girl from Newton's table passes, dropping a folded note in the empty spot next to my book before sitting at the next table over. Curious, I unfold it and almost snort at it.

 _Thanks for getting Mike to shut up about Isabella during lunch. He's been asking where she's been since she wasn't in class with us this morning because he wants to try asking her out again. I hope she's alright, but if she's sick please tell her I hope she feels better soon and not to stress out over school._

 _Also, her dad's been kicked out of the apartment my dad got tired of seeing no payment for, so she and her mom need to watch out for the psycho. He said something about going to the hospital, which is why I ask if she's sick. I'm worried about her – did her dad hurt her and land her in the hospital?_

 _Angela Weber_

I send a nod to her with a small smile of thanks so that she understands that I'll pass along her message to Izzy tonight, before writing out my own.

 _Thank you for the worry, but Izzy is doing alright. She caught a stomach bug over the weekend and wasn't up to getting out of bed yet. I'll let her mom know about her dad, but he probably thought she had food poisoning and got landed in the hospital or something. She should be back tomorrow. Thank you for the warning about her dad by the way; Dad never liked the guy when we were neighbors back in Alaska and now I think I know why._

 _Edward Cullen_

I flick the note to her when the teacher is just strolling into the lab, so I open my binder to a fresh page to begin taking notes on a lecture I won't need to use, but only for Izzy's sake do I even bother.

Izzy POV

I sip slowly at the orange juice as I sit at the table while Esme cooks again, reading my chemistry textbook and writing notes where they're needed, and adding to the glossary in the binder as needed before returning to the reading once more.

"Izzy, are you feeling up to eating something more?" she asks, something sizzling on the skillet.

Whatever it is, the smell already makes my mouth water. "I think so," I offer, straightening to see she's making French toast.

Jasper drapes a blanket over my shoulders, setting a firm hand on my shoulders to keep me from getting up as I'm tempted to do. "Easy Izzy," he murmurs teasingly, relaxed and almost happy for the first time since we've met. "Finish the chapter, you have enough time before lunch is ready."

I nod just as the doorbell rings, almost echoing in the large house, and watch as Jasper's good mood evaporates while Esme frowns in annoyance. "What is it?" I ask, putting down my pencil to pull the blanket more closely around myself as I shiver ever so slightly.

A warm mug of water appears next to my book as Esme runs over to us. "Jasper, I'll speak with the wolves, you stay with Izzy."

"Wolves?" I ask softly, frowning as she vanishes down the stairs.

"Werewolves, but not quite like the ones in the fairytales. They're more like shapeshifters if you want a literary reference," he answers. "They shift into their wolf forms at will, and only start doing so when there's a vampire threat to their home."

"Oh," I murmur, sipping at the hot water and sighing at the relief the hot water brings to my aching throat, warming my body. "Would I happen to know any of them?"

He settles into the chair next to me as the front door closes, which I can only tell because I was listening for it. "They are the Quileutes, on the Reservation nearby. We aren't allowed to hunt on their territory due to the treaty Carlisle made before Alice and I met them, but they can't harm us unless we harm a human first."

I blink at the new information in shock as Esme leads a huge man into the kitchen, followed by a smaller guy my age with long hair and a man in a wheelchair. "Um… should I go to Edward's room to let you guys talk in private?" I offer tentatively, knowing that if I go upstairs I might pass out for the rest of the day.

"No dear, its fine," Esme assures me, giving a stern glare to the huge man who takes a seat across from me, the oldest man wheeling to sit at the head of the table and the one my age across from Jasper. "It concerns you too, but you might want to put your homework away for now."

"Is it about the treaty?" I ask as Jasper slits around me quickly, packing away my things before I can even attempt to do so myself.

Esme nods a little, plating the food and turning off the stove, carrying over the kettle to refill my mug with hot water. "Partially, but its mostly because of you and your circumstances." I get instantly that she means both my relationship with Edward and my health, which has only been getting worse since we moved to Forks. "Sam Uley, Billy Black, and Jacob Black; this is Rosalie's several times over niece Isabella Hale, Charlie Swan's niece and Edward's mate. Billy is the representative the Elders of the tribe sent to meet with us today."

I nod politely before sipping from my mug quickly, able to suppress what would have been a very painful coughing fit. "It's nice to meet you," I offer softly, palming a napkin and pressing it to my mouth just in case.

"She knows?" Sam asks rudely, though I ignore it and cut into the French toast.

"Yes, she does," Jasper answers coldly. "We have a need to ask for an exception to be made in the treaty."

"You want to turn a human under our surveillance?" Billy asks calmly. "Why?"

Jasper looks to me as I put down the fork after just a couple bites. "Izzy?" he asks softly, no doubt feeling my discomfort.

I shake my head slowly, closing my eyes and lifting my left sleeve to reveal the needles taped along my veins. "According to the doctors, nothing we do is going to save my life at this point, and they recommend I file charges against my father for contributing to my death by ignoring an obvious health issue for so long that a curable condition became terminal. I've got about a year if I keep going through treatment, but if I stop I won't live to see Christmas according to Alice." I look up at Sam, who stares at me with a frown. "Carlisle only turns people who deserve the chance to keep living, and Edward doesn't deserve to lose someone he's waited almost a century to meet. I don't want to leave my mom alone, and I know what I'm asking for."

"You're asking to damn your soul and become a blood-sucker," Jacob grumbles, glaring at me.

"I could never truly harm another person, even unintentionally," I counter right back. "Esme and Rosalie have never consumed human blood, meaning I can too. If Alice sees something, she can warn us and I can be stopped before hurting someone."

Billy looks at Jasper after a few minutes in which I eat a little more of my meal. "The circumstances being what they are, as long as she has the chance to continue life as a human for as long as possible, I can see no reason why the Elders would deny your request. It is not permission, but rather my promise that it will be discussed further with this new information. Sam?"

The giant of a man meets my eyes when I look up at him. "As much as I dislike vampires, I would never deny anyone the right to a life with their soulmate. I will have to see you with him before I speak for you."

"Thank you," I whisper softly, relieved that someone who has to be the Alpha is even considering this, even against his own nature.


End file.
